Hump Day

For those of you who know and love Aubs, you will get a kick out of what she said about her Hump Day package.

The first package was great but that second one completely threw me off I was like what the...did she forget something..but no my hump day YAY I LOVE that camel love it, it's my blanket replacement, I miss my blanket terribly I'll let you know ora bem.

Blessings

So this week seemed to drag on unbelievably long, but we were blessed and my testimony just grows stronger and stronger of this gospel. Monday-we were waiting for a bus to go to a recent converts and a man came up to us and started talking to us, it was a complete shock, that just doesn’t happen, sadness though, our bus came at that moment, but we left him our number and a pamphlet boy do I love those things. We had a good time we watched Finding Faith in Christ with her, and that movie always brings the spirit and makes me think of different things about our Saviors life. Then she showed us a CD she had with the hymns in Portuguese, that’s a hot commodity here, because you can’t get them in Portuguese. One of the missionaries gave it to her; it was Brazilian Portuguese oh well.

Rejection

Tuesday-we won’t talk about Tuesday >.> Nor Wednesday, nor even really Thursday, let’s just say none of our investigators wanted to talk to us this week or keep their appointments. Well actually Wednesday night was awesome, we went to a less active member’s house and watched the Restoration, they’re from Africa, anywho I think it touched him and his mom watched it with us, she’s a sweet lady and said she liked it a lot. The spirit was present and just a warm and happy feeling was there. I love Joseph Smith and I love the Restoration, everything about it, it so true and it makes so much sense.

New Investigator

Friday, we went with the Elders to Domingos, we had to take a bus, when we got there he said he didn’t know if a bus came at the time we were planning on going back so we were like oh great. So we walked there anyway and were waiting when this lady came up to us and started talking with us. She told us she was a JW for 20 years and got excommunicated and that when she was in Maia she went to our church but she moved and didn’t know there was one close by. So yay new investigator, I do believe she has a lot of hang ups, so we’ll see what her story is. I was just thinking earlier that day, because we had a really hard time contacting people were just not nice, and I was thinking about the ram in the thicket, that when we show our faith the Lord will provide He will I have a testimony of that. So another blessing from the Lord she asked us if we wanted a ride back, so we all shoved in the back seat of her car, I got to sit on my companions lap.

Golden Opportunity

Saturday-Gracielle hates us T_T we were on the bus and we get a texts saying that the appt. didn’t work, but we were on the bus and I’m like we can do other things in Vizela. When we were ready to leave, we were walking through the park and I found a wallet, and I’m like we need to do something with this, let’s take it to the police, there wasn’t any information in it though, and it was basically chump change, so we were pondering what to do, so we went and asked the bolo shop man, where the police station was, and on the way we looked in another compartment and found a recite with a man´s name and a road, so that’s where it began we asked an old man who tried but had to call a friend over, that friend led us to the police station, the police man told us to go back and ask someone cause the road was back where we were, so we asked a lady and she wasn’t from Vizela so we asked a man who told us, it was a long road so we asked men in a café and they were no help so we knocked on a door to see if they knew him, she didn’t and asked her neighbor and then she led us up to where she thought he lived, no one was home so she knocked on a neighbors door and the lady came out and showed us the real house she knocked but no answer so we went to another neighbor and she went and knocked and finally the owner of the wallet was found. Yay about 12 more people had contact with the church. Seriously though, it’s all about doing little acts of service to open people’s hearts because they are so Catholic here and very very closed off, not open to anything. So that was fun.

This and That From Portugal

Sunday-We had Stake Conference; it was wonderful to be with a bunch of Mormons again, it was fun to see the other missionaries and the members from Braga. We also inherited a new investigator from the Elders so you’ll hear about her more next week. So the scripture that hit me this week was in D&C 58 about Zion’s camp, after much tribulations cometh the blessings. I love you all so very much I know my Savior lives and that the Atonement is real that as we apply it and think about it, it will heal us. I love all of you so much thank you for the support and love you give. You all rock have a wonderful week.

Another 6 Weeks in Guimaraes!

Eu vou ficar em Guimarães por mais 6 semanas. Sigh that’s a lot of time in one city, but the Lord knows best-pois-sigh. I’m both happy and sad, it’s means no packing, I still know who and where everything is, I’m accustomed to my comp, and yeah. Tragedy is it’s the same old stuff, and I’m going to leave a week before Christmas, that’s when the next transfer is ….Anywho obviously I haven’t found who I’m suppose to here, or the Lord is being very kind to me allowing me to stay with my comp who is fluent in both languages, that’s a great blessing. The language, ha ha yeah it’s still taking a while. I keep having disturbing dreams where I’m at home but I really don’t know the language all that well, I keep having them it’s not helping with my psyche or whatever that word is.

Halloween in Guimaraes

So I was able to keep with the tradition of Halloween this year, going door to door ^^ I know that’s why we celebrate that pagan holiday, its good preparation for the mission or at least how the only three trick or treaters I saw here. They don’t really celebrate Halloween here, it’s here but nowhere compared to the USA. Anywho we saw 2 witches and a ghost and we were walking and they came up to us and asked us for candy, we gave them pass a long cards^^ Then an old lady was like “They came here last year asking for candy, I didn’t have any so I gave them cookies and a cake” it was funny but that was it for trick or treaters. They celebrate Dia dos Santos, it’s a flower vender holiday, there were flowers everywhere and everyone goes to the cemetery, it’s to remember your dead day, basically.

I am Irma Beckett for Halloween ! Lame, I know but what can a missionary do?

Silver Linnings!

Okay Saturday was the day of amazement because every other day, was just sad, all our new investigators didn’t want to talk to us, and Linda basically told us not to come back, SIGH I was really sad after that, oh well we will persevere. Anywho finally FINALLY after a month of going to Vizela we caught Gracielle at home and watched the Restoration with her, the spirit was present and we had a good lesson, and it was wonderful, pray for her that she’ll receive an answer-porfavor! We also started talking to this one lady who I thought she was another lady, turned out back in June we knocked her door but we couldn’t go in. So she knew my companions but I didn’t know who she was, she seemed really interested to have us, we were going to show her the Restoration, but her husband started freaking out and yelling, and it was bad, but she said we could come back, she has an adorable little son. Then after getting back from Vizela we helped a lady walk up a mountain with her groceries, we had a good lesson with her while walking and talking, she was very open that’s kind of a rarity here, a happy person she was, that’s a rarity too.So yes another 6 weeks in Guimarães, it will be good.

My Testimony is Growing

I still have much to improve upon that’s for sure. My relationship with the Lord is growing stronger and stronger, I love that about the mission and just learning about life in general and finally growing up in a way ^^ of course I’m still pathetic in a lot of ways oh well. I know more than anything else in this world that this is the only true church on the earth, that’s its Christ church and it’s the only way to everlasting happiness. That it’s good and true and wonderful, I am so grateful that I was born in America, what a blessing. I know that President Monson is the prophet today and what a blessing he is. I know Joseph Smith was and is a prophet that the Book of Mormon is true and the best book on the earth. I know my Father lives that He knows each one of us personally, and that Christ is my Savior Redeemer and King. I’m so grateful that He is my advocate. That is my testimony and it will just keep growing-YAY. I love and miss you all. Read Jesus the Christ, it’s amazing, you just have to get past chpt. 6 and it all flows from there. Again I love you and miss you all.
Random picture that Aubrey sent of Irma Svedin and Irma Evans and friends.